26 U.S.C. § 3509
Determination of employer’s liability for certain employment taxes
United States · Title 26 — INTERNAL REVENUE CODE · Status: effective
Cite this
- Citation
- 26 U.S.C. § 3509, Determination of employer’s liability for certain employment taxes, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/463344
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Full text
If any employer fails to deduct and withhold any tax under chapter 24 or subchapter A of chapter 21 with respect to any employee by reason of treating such employee as not being an employee for purposes of such chapter or subchapter, the amount of the employer’s liability for—
Tax under chapter 24 for such year with respect to such employee shall be determined as if the amount required to be deducted and withheld were equal to 1.5 percent of the wages (as defined in section 3401) paid to such employee.
Taxes under subchapter A of chapter 21 with respect to such employee shall be determined as if the taxes imposed under such subchapter were 20 percent of the amount imposed under such subchapter without regard to this subparagraph.
In the case of an employer who fails to meet the applicable requirements of section 6041(a), 6041A, or 6051 with respect to any employee, unless such failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, subsection (a) shall be applied with respect to such employee—
For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “applicable requirements” means the requirements described in paragraph (1) which would be applicable consistent with the employer’s treatment of the employee as not being an employee for purposes of chapter 24 or subchapter A of chapter 21.
This section shall not apply to the determination of the employer’s liability for tax under chapter 24 or subchapter A of chapter 21 if such liability is due to the employer’s intentional disregard of the requirement to deduct and withhold such tax.
For purposes of this section—
If the amount of any liability for tax is determined under this section—
This section shall not apply to any employer with respect to any wages if—
This section shall not apply to any tax under subchapter A of chapter 21 with respect to an individual described in subsection (d)(3) of section 3121 (without regard to whether such individual is described in paragraph (1) or (2) of such subsection).
Legislative history
The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone.
- Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990
- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018House: 256–167Senate: no recorded tally